Fastcorp produces high end vending machines under parent company Chapco. Fastcorp’s Dream It Vend It (DIVI) vending machine is one of their top selling products, but improving this vending machine has been a low priority over the past few years. Over these years, opportunities to decrease cost and improve integration of electronics with the handling and dispensing system have accumulated. The aim of this project is to investigate the potential areas of improvement, identify the most addressable, design a solution to those issues, and execute that design. The selected areas of the project are redesigning the hood lift assembly and building a better material database which will be used to identify potential cost saving measures. The hoodlift is being redesigned with a linear actuator instead of the over-engineered rack and pinion. The current redesign will incorporate a sheet metal assembly inside the freezer container which will lend itself to a more integrated solution. The linear actuator will reduce costs, improve manufacturing time and be more reliable in the field than the existing rack and pinion system. Alongside the redesign, a business analysis to streamline future product development into a more organized and usable system will provide great value to Chapco. This information is important to consider with the state of the overarching industry and the markets Fastcorp operates in. The vending machine industry is in decline as a whole, but there is a large growth in technologically advanced vending machines world wide. It is important to understand how the individual projects will affect the product’s position in the marketplace. Vending machines need to be cheap enough to make fiscal sense for their owners while also integrating an enhanced customer experience.

Our team collaborated with Electrical and Computer Engineering 21,Mechanical Engineering 23 on this project.